At a conference last fall, Kirsten Dierking came across "College Girl: A Memoir," a book by Laura Gray-Rosendale that tells the story of a brutal sexual assault she experienced as a college student. While she purchased a copy of the book, it sat unopened on her desk for a while; also a victim of brutal rape in college, she was not sure…

In this article, the author shares how she designs fun and fascinating western humanities courses at a community college in Minnesota. Using the example provided by many excellent past instructors, and through numerous late-night research sessions, she began to develop techniques and exercises that would help her achieve her goals in the…